CMPUT 617 - Earth Observation: Data Science and Applications
Overview
Digital data appears in various forms and dimensions depending on the acquisition devices. With the advancement of active and passive remote sensor technology, data is no longer restricted to what the human eyes perceive, which is primarily based on the presence of visible light. The full Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum comprises of both visible and invisible bands ranging from the longest wavelength, i.e., radio wave, to the shortest wavelength, i.e., gamma-ray, with the typical RGB wavelengths occupying only a very small part of the EM. Each segment of the EM offers unique reflectance characteristics, which benefit a wide range of applications. In this course, we will look at a wide scope of the EM. In particular, we will discuss sensor data captured from the satellite, drone, LiDAR, and so on, which helps in observing the dynamics on the earth surface. Applications to be discussed include, but are not limited to, precision agriculture, urban development and environment monitoring
The syllabus focuses on Data and Applications (D&A). Students can choose different techniques and programming languages that they are competent with to perform data analysis, so that they can concentrate on creative analytics and translate research concepts to real-world applications. Guest speakers will be invited as appropriate.
Prerequisites: Students should have one or more of the following coding skills: image/video processing, signal analysis, 3D modelling, computer vision algorithm, machine learning training/testing (if sufficient training samples are available). Note that for the term project, taking an existing neural net and training it with new samples is not sufficient to pass this course.
Objectives
- Learn the fundamental of EM
- Analyze EM spectral data in the context of earth observation
- Apply spectral data science to real-world applications
Course Work
- Internet search (off-class) and in-class discussion
- Literature review and presentation
- Application group forum
- Take home assignment
- Term project and demo